On August 17, 2026, the online charity event "Collect a backpack of Goodness" began in the Marfo-Mariinsky Monastery of Mercy in Moscow. The campaign is aimed at helping children from families who find themselves in difficult situations to prepare for the start of the new school year.
The Marfo-Mariinsky Monastery of Mercy continues the charitable traditions of its founder, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna. Currently, there are eight social projects in the monastery, which provide assistance to the wards and their children, who will soon begin the new school year.
"The first of September is a holiday for every child! And even those children whose families cannot fully get them ready for school should greet Knowledge Day with a smile. This year, parents will have to spend about 24,550 rubles on school fees, and for the families of the Monastery, this amount is often equal to the entire monthly budget," said Ekaterina Shashova, head of charity programs at the Marfo-Mariinsky Monastery.
Thanks to the campaign, the monastery plans to provide assistance to 221 children from three social projects this year. This is the "Work with a Case" service for those in need, which supports people in difficult situations with the most necessary things — food, hygiene products, medicines; more than 1,287 people receive help there every month, including 658 people with disabilities, 99 single mothers and 167 large families. It is a Family Placement Center for orphans and children left without parental care, which helps foster families and families in crisis, prevents abandonment of children and conducts almost 2,000 consultations per year. And this is the Elizabethan Orphanage, an inclusive home for girls from crisis families and girls with Down syndrome.
The funds raised will be used to buy notebooks, pens, pencils, pencil cases, paints, brushes, albums and other stationery for the monastery's wards on the eve of the new school year. A full set for one child costs 1,650 rubles. You can also take part in a smaller amount: 300 rubles — stationery for one child, 600 rubles — everything for creativity. The larger the donation, the more children the monastery will help to meet on September 1, ready for school.
The "Pack a backpack of Goodness" campaign has become a good tradition of the monastery and is being held for the seventh time, helping children to go to classes with all the necessary school supplies. Over the past six years, thanks to the participants of the campaign, more than 2,880 children have been able to attend school.